


First Noël

by shiveringhand



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game), The Last of Us (Video Games)
Genre: Christmas Cookies, Christmas Presents, Christmas With Family, Crossover, Dogs, Domestic, Family, M/M, Snow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:47:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28047156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shiveringhand/pseuds/shiveringhand
Summary: Hank invites his adult daughter Abby back home for Christmas, hoping to introduce her to his new android boyfriend.
Relationships: Hank Anderson/Connor
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	First Noël

**Author's Note:**

> Idk if it counts as fluff when it contains recovering alcoholics, dead relatives and mentions of break up but hey, happy holiday Anderson style!
> 
> It’s the crossover nobody asked for and didn’t know they needed this holiday season.

Hank sits on the couch, scratching Sumo's head while listening to the line beep. When nobody picks up, it goes to voicemail so he leaves a message. 

"Hi, it's me, dad," he greets, pausing for a moment as if he's expecting an answer. "Just calling to let you know it's been snowing all morning so don't forget to pack something warm with you, I know you've propably gotten used to the warmth of LA by now, heh. I'll pick you up from the airport tonight and uhh..."

Hank glances towards the kitchen, where Connor chooses napkins for the dinner table. He's got an adorable frown on his pale face as he scans and analyses the pros and cons of both the reindeer and snowflake paper towels. 

"There's someone I want you to meet," Hank smiles to himself, watching the android put both napkins down and raise a third one from a pile; it has little elfs on it. 

"Anyway, have a safe flight! See you soon." 

Hank shoves the phone back into his pocket and stands up quickly. Him and Abby haven't talked properly since she enlisted four years ago. They've sent a few messages back and forth and shared photos, kept in touch, but she hasn't been home, not since high school.

"Smells great!" Hank exclaims walking over to Connor. He ties his arms around the other from behind. He presses his chin against the android's firm shoulder and swings a little from side to side. "How are the preparations going on?"

"Everything's running smoothly," Connor reports. "The turkey is well on the way, gravy and chutney ready. Yet to start on the cookies."

"Cole was supposed to help with that, wasn't he?" Hank remembers. "Cole!" he shouts, waiting for a moment to make sure he hears the small boy's footsteps pat against the floor upstairs. "You've been working your ass off with all these Christmas preparations, babe," he then says, massaging the android's stiff shoulders. 

"It's just a turkey," Connor smiles faintly.

"That, and the decorations all around the house, not to mention the matching elf costumes for the dogs," Hank grins proud, turning Connor around to see him better. His face sinks as he notices the worried look on the android's face. 

"What's the matter?"

Connor sighs, putting down the sealed up pack of napkins. 

"What if she doesn't like me? Or worse, the food!" It's a joke, to lighten up the mood, take attention away from his most sincere fear.

"Abs? Nah!" Hank laughs. "She's gonna love you, don't worry." He slaps Connor's butt, turning just in time to grab Cole in his arms as he hurries to the kitchen. 

"Daddy, daddy, I think I saw Santa!" Cole exclaims playing with Hank's nose excitedly.

"You did?" Hank laughs, securing the boy in his arms and twisting his face goofily under Cole's fingers. 

"Yeah." 

"Isn't Santa supposed to be busy preparing for tonight?" him and Connor exchange meaningful looks. 

"Well," Cole hesitates. "I saw what I saw," he says, scratching his own nose in turn. "And he was carrying plastic bags from Target."

"Target, huh! So that's his secret?" Hank laughs. 

Cole squirms and wiggles, indicating he wants to be put back on the floor. Hank puts him down, addressing him firmly, "Do you remember what you promised to Connor?" 

The kid looks at the android who leans against a kitchen counter, trying to control his smile.

"Uhh…" Cole thinks out loud. "To stop hiding daddy's socks around the house?"

"What? I mean no! Not that," Hank shakes his head. 

Connor lets out a little laughter. 

"Then what?" Cole frowns, fidgeting his left foot, looking around for something to catch his attention. 

"You promised to bake cookies with me," Connor smiles charmingly.

"Hoo!" the kid screams of joy, startling Sumo on the couch. "Riiight!"

Connor helps him climb on a chair so Cole can access the island. On it, lays all the ingredients and equipment they'll need for baking. 

"I'll leave you to it," Hank smiles, ruffling Cole's hair and landing a kiss on Connor's cheek. "I'm gonna uhh… run some _errands,_ " Hank says, glancing at Cole who seems far more interested in the pedals of the mixer than the adult's conversation.

"Alright, drive safe, dear."

"Will do!"

Connor, determined to give the kid an authentic Christmas experience he’s been lacking, opens a bag of flour and hands Cole the measuring cup. "We need 1½ cups."

\---

After rushed visit to the local mall, Hank parks the car and discreetly transports big shopping bags from the garage into his and Connor's bedroom. He sneaks downstairs and finds Connor reading something on a tablet in the living room.

"Where's the kid?" he whispers, searching the room with his eyes. 

"In his room," Connor replies. "The cookies turned out real nice!"

"Great!" Hank walks over and lands a kiss on top of Connor's neatly combed back hair. "I need to head out to the airport soon. She lands at eight."

Connor blinks rapidly for a moment and says then, "Her flight's late due to the snow storm. They're currently flying over Minnesota."

"Ah!" Hank sighs, relieved he has time to sit down. Just as he leans back on the couch and curls an arm around Connor's neck the android speaks again, "We should wrap the…" he turns to check that Cole's still upstairs.

"Yeah," Hank agrees. "Lets."

After Santa's little helpers are done adding even more bows and ribbons on everybody's gifts than the wrapping service at the local mall had managed, Hank heads out. 

"Drive safe!" Connor reminds him at the garage door. "That blizzard doesn't show any signs of calming down."

"Yeah, yeah. See ya soon!" Hank waves and reverses out onto the street. 

\---

The flight from LA is indeed late. Hank waits at the airport lobby, constantly refreshing the airline's tracking page to see when the red 'estimated time of arrival' text would turn into a green 'landed' sign. He watches the other travellers coming and going around him; parents of small children stressed and ill prepared for the holiday traffic, young couples on their first holidays together, and business people, appearing fresh and well put together, their noses so deep in their screens it appears they'll only startle from their urgent tasks and endless phone calls by the time the rest of the world starts dressing down their Christmas trees. 

Hank sees happy families, kids running to hug their siblings, lovers meeting after periods of separation, dogs, eagerly wagging their tails and jumping to lick their owners knees or faces. It all makes him wonder how the reunion with his daughter will go. Certainly no tail wagging. However, even if they let bygones be bygones, they were never really the openly affectionate kind of people. Certainly not since Daliah passed away...

After half an hour more of waiting, the terminal doors finally slide open and a group of tanned and well dressed people rush out, each hurrying wherever they are already late for. The plane from LA has finally landed. In their colorful yet light winter attire, the passengers look very much out of place in the cold and gloomy lobby of the Detroit airport, almost as if they'd expected to land somewhere warmer and more welcoming.

From the middle of the crowd Hank spots a familiar face, although it is not the same round, child-like face of a high school girl he knows. It's the face of a young woman, toughened up by the military. 

Abby's dressed in green cargo pants and a navy blue winter coat, certainly thick enough to beat the storm outside. She searches the room with her eyes while pulling a woolen beanie on. Her hair’s much longer than Hank remembers, but it’s braided, just like her mother used to make it. In a leash by her side strodes a German Shepherd, Alice.

"Abs!" the old man calls out, raising an arm to get her attention.

Abby looks around, notices him and smiles with recognition in her eyes. 

"Hey, daddy," she greets him heading towards him through the crowd. 

Abby's only got a small brown backpack with her, casually hung over one shoulder. Alice’s eyes go wild as she sees a tall stranger approach her owner but she stays still by command, tongue jiggling as she swallows between short draws of breath. 

Hank grabs Abby in a firm hug. It's the kind of embrace men give each other; dominant, stiff and accompanied by a couple of pats on the back. _I missed you, baby girl_ , Hank's grip says and Abby returns it with a pair of arms strong enough to lift her father off the ground; m _e too, pops, me too._

"Gaah, look at you.” Hank laughs, pushing her into an arm’s length to take a better look. “You're all grown up!” he says. “And this must be Alice?” 

“Yeah,” the young woman laughs a little awkwardly and swipes a strand of hair off her face. “Alice, sit,” Abby commands and she immediately obeys. 

Hank offers his palms to the dog to smell, and after deeming the old man harmless, Alice allows him to rub her behind an ear.

“Who’s a good girl, yeah? So well trained!” Hank remarks astonished and glances at Abby, proud. 

“Thanks for waiting. The weather made it almost impossible to land!”

“Yeah, well, it ain’t much better down here,” Hank grins, straightening his back and hoping he’ll still be able to drive despite the snow storm.

“Home sweet home,” Abby sighs and fixes the backpack better over her shoulder. 

Hank smirks nodding, sincerely glad to see her. “Well, let’s get going.”

In the car, as Abby checks her phone and replies to a bunch of holiday wishes and other messages, Hank keeps eyeing her nervously. 

“I, uhh..” he says after a long while driving in silence. “I’ve sent you picks of a guy before, haven’t I?”  
  
“Yeah?” Abby replies, still typing.

“Well, we’re sort of…” Hank thinks of how to put it. “Living together these days. Cole knows,” he adds, as a proof of how serious their dating already is. “They get along well.”  
  
“Mhm…” Abby mumbles, taking a picture out of the car window and sending it to someone named Manny. 

Immediately her screen fills with shocked emojis and Hank guesses it’s due to the amount of snow. He forces his eyes off Abby’s screen and back on the road.

“We met at work but it’s not like I- we-,” he rubs his jaw, frowning. Realizing no matter how many times he had practiced the speech in front of the bathroom mirror the actual situation is not going at all how he planned it. 

“He’s an android!” he then blurts and squeezes the steering wheel with both hands, preparing for the worst. 

Abby lifts her gaze from the screen and blinks twice. A car passes them on the opposite lane and its front lights flash on her face. 

“Oh,” she says indifferently and gets back on her phone. “Cool.”

“Yeah, cool,” Hank repeats, releasing air from his lungs with a relieved sign. Cool. That’s how easy it was, he thinks, letting out a small laugh and scratching his beard, amused. “Cool…” 

\---

Despite traffic and the horrible weather, Hank navigates rather effortlessly through the city and back home. As they turn a street corner they can already spot Connor waving by the door. He's been tracking them through Hank's phone no doubt. 

The old man parks in front and smiles silly at the sight of such a warm welcome. Coming home to Connor, even after a shitty day of work always feels just like this. He takes a quick glance at Abby, hoping she gets the same kind of tender loving sensation in her heart just now but the young woman gets out of the car without a word and seems to be silently judging the brightness and volume of their Christmas lights in the yard. 

Wind blows snow and cold air inside the house. As Abby commands Alice to pause by the doorstep Hank notices Connor's rapid eye movement. It's nothing more than a quick glance and a pair of fluttering lashes, something Abby probably ignores, but Hank knows he's vigorously scanning the young woman and her pet for clues on how to best approach her. 

"So this is Connor," Hank says, pointing at the android. "Abby, Connor, Connor, Abby," he continues, waving an arm between the two of them. 

"So nice to meet you, Abby!" Connor smiles and spreads his arms in front of the tall blonde woman. His readings seem to have led him to a conclusion that the smart and bright eyed young soldier would be alright with a surprise hug from a stranger. He'd be wrong.

Hank notices Connor has put on one of his nicer t-shirts and a pair of black jeans; he rarely wears anything as formal at home anymore. He’s clearly putting up a show, to make a good first impression on Hank's daughter. Despite the warm welcoming smile he appears nervous. If he wasn’t a little anxious himself, Hank would find it silly. 

"Hi," Abby mumbles and offers her hand instead of leaning in for the hug Connor assumed was appropriate. He stares at the hand, hesitating. 

Hank clears his throat awkwardly behind them.

"Well, come on in," Connor smiles instantly. He grabs Abby's palm and gives it a firm shake with both hands before stepping aside to make space for her to enter. "She's here!' he shouts to allert Cole. 

"He's still up?" Hank frowns and Connor senses the judgement in his tone.

"He agreed to go to sleep as soon as she's home," Connor replies sharply, closing the front door behind them. 

Hank just nods, sympathetically. 

"Aaaab!" Cole shouts, extending his greeting to the whole way down the stairs. He rushes to hug the young woman's knees.

"What up, little gremlin?" Abby laughs and lifts the kid up with one arm and throws him over a shoulder like he weighs nothing. The kid screams and snorts laughing, trying and failing to grab her long braid, happy to see his big sister again. When Abby puts him down she notices a Minions bandaid on his index finger.

"What happened there?" she asks, pointing at it. 

But Cole babbles so excitedly nobody can make sense of his words.

"He cut open one of our decorative acorns with a knife," Connor clarifies.

"Oouch!" Abby winces. 

"Yeah! They were a little bitter though," the kid smiles proudly.

"I see," Abby chuckles and ruffles his hair on her way in. "Daddy gone raised a chipmunk, huh?"

Cole just giggles thrilled, trying to protest. He has only seen Abby on camera before, aside from a day spent together with her and their grandparents in an amusement park last summer. He had been shy at first but after Abby had taken him to all the wildest rides and bought him ice cream twice in one day they had become fast friends.

“I even made cookies!” Cole tells her proudly.

“Oh, you did, huh? Like a proper little elf,” Abby smirks.

“Yeah.”

Connor sighs at the sight of the two of them and Hank lands a big bearded kiss on his cheek as a greeting and as support, both fully aware of the fact that it would take hours before the kid calms down enough to get him to sleep. 

After a light dinner the family turns in for the night. Abby settles in her old bedroom that's been turned into an arts and crafts room. Connor has aired it and made a bed for her there. Cole needs to be told three times to close his lights and go to sleep.

"Santa lurks in the dark. Now turn 'em off!" Hank shouts from the bedroom door, tired of arguing.

"Aaw!" Cole moans but eventually does as he's told.

"Kind of grim," Connor mumbles as Hank crashes back down next to him on their bed. 

"Well, if it works…" he grins.

Sometime during the night the snow storm finally cleared and Christmas Day dawns sunny and brisk like a view from an old postcard. Tall banks of snow glisten like diamonds on the pavement and all of the well kept houses of the neighborhood have thick dark smoke coming out of their red brick chimneys. 

Cole is up early. It's seven thirty in the morning when he marches into Hank and Connor's bedroom and starts jumping on the bed, "Wake up, wake up! It's Christmas!" he shouts excited. 

"Mhm!" Hank protests, trying to pull the cover over his head. 

"Cole..." Connor's frail voice pleads.

"It's Christmas!" the boy argues back, landing on all fours after a big jump. He's a little out of breath. 

That's when Abby walks to the door. "Mornin'," she waves a hand and smiles. The young woman dries her freshly braided hair and ears on a towel. She's already gone running and done a short workout, it seems. She looks fresh and warm.

With great effort Hank sits up, grey curls pointing in every direction. "Mornin'," he rubs his eyes and yawns. 

Cole rushes to hug him, stepping rather painfully on Hank's knee. "Morning daddy!" 

"Hey there," Hank mumbles, returning the hug and wiping hair off of Cole's face. "Did you go downstairs yet?" 

"No," Cole replies, bright eyes gleaming below him. 

"Well, you gotta go check if Santa brought anything, don't you?"

The kid gasps as if he’d just remembered what today's all about. He crawls to Connor's side of the bed and pats the android's cheek a little roughly so as to say good morning and then rushes to the door. 

"Move!" he commands Abby, bumping into her sweatpant covered legs on his way down the hall.

"Well, good morning to you too, baby brother," she laughs, throwing the towel over a freckled shoulder. And then, turning to face her dad, continues, "He's not had many Christmases like this, huh? Might even be the first one both of you will actually remember."

"Hmm, yeah..." Hank chuckles to himself a little awkward. He gets up from the bed, scratching a butt cheek while Connor stares ahead, thinking of a proper comeback for Abby's insensitive remark.

"Merry Christmas, dad. I'll see you downstairs," the young woman nods, closing the door behind her before Connor's had his piece.  
  
"It's alright, babe," Abby can hear the older man's muffled words through the wall.

\---

For breakfast, Hank makes pancakes from a mix while Connor offers everyone custom-made Anderson Christmas sweaters he ordered online. They all have hideously bright colors and patterns and the word _Anderson_ embroidered in glittery silver letters on them.

“Woow,” Abby grins embarrassed, trying to hide her sincere excitement.

“He spent countless nights browsing the options,” Hank tells from the kitchen as he flips a pancake over on the pan. 

“I see…” Abby smiles as Connor hands over hers. In its design white dumbbells and jingle bells alternate in rows of green and red. 

“You’re size M, right?” the android confirms looking her up and down a little worried. 

“Umm, depends,” Abby frowns, lifting the shirt to her eye level and trying to estimate whether it would fit her or not.

“Might be a little too tight around the-” Connor hesitates.

“The shoulders, yeah.” Abby agrees.

“Well, I could-” Connor starts, reaching a hand to try and get the shirt back from her. 

"No, no. Lemme try it on at least," Abby insists, pulling the sweater over her head to put it on. When she stretches her arms a seam rips somewhere.

"Oof," Hank winces all the way from the kitchen. "Baby girl, you're too ripped!" he laughs and Abby chuckles along.

Connor doesn't even have time to apologize for the faux-pas of having ordered the wrong size when Abby grabs the sweater by the back of her neck and pulls it off, belly button flashing. "I have an idea," she grins, tucking her own long-sleeved shirt back in her pants. She takes a pair of scissors from the kitchen counter and simply cuts both arms off, all the while Connor and Cole stare at her mouth open. 

"Oh boy," Hank chuckles, rubbing his bearded chin.

"Is that allowed?" Cole shrieks and insists his sleeves be cut off as well. Hank protests at first but gives in after a short while, much to Connor's disapproval. The sweaters were rather expensive. 

Cole operates the scissors all by himself and flexes his beanpole arms in front of Abby triumphantly afterwards. 

"Aren't you gonna be cold?" the young woman jokes as Cole grunts and growls, trying to pull Sumo off the ground. 

"Of course not!" Cole pants, wiping hair off his face as Sumo rolls on his back, mistaking the boy's efforts as a belly rub. Cole's bare feet tap against the tiles surrounding a lit up fireplace as he plays with the dog. 

Alice observes them for a while before deciding to move aside and onto Abby’s feet by the couch. She doesn’t jump on it, Hank notices, and wishes Sumo was as obedient as her, all the while knowing he couldn't stand not being able to cuddle or fight the dog for leg space on a daily basis.

"We did get something for the furry ones too, didn't we, babe?" the old man reminds Connor, raising his voice just enough to catch the android's attention.

"Huh?" Connor startles from his thoughts, frown slowly melting off his face. "Yes! Yes we did. Could you go get them?" 

"Yush!" Hank huffs and wipes his hands as he stands up from a chair with quite some effort. “Can someone please watch over the pancakes in the meantime?”

\---

Everybody’s bellies full of the butter and maple syrup filled breakfast, and the dogs resting by the fireplace dressed up in their own jingly sweaters, it’s time to open gifts. Hank and Connor settle on the couch while Abby and Cole sit on the floor near the tree, just in reach of the gifts.

Connor offers Hank a diet & exercise routine book written by one of his favorite ex-basketball stars. 

“This edition includes an all new feature that allows you to keep track of your progression with an app on your phone,” the android explains, pointing at their tablet screen and grinning excitedly as if with the tone alone he could get Hank on board. 

“Mm hm..” the old man nods, crossing his arms over the round of his tummy.

“Look, he even signed the cover,” Connor explains swiping through pages with a single white finger tip. 

“Thanks, I guess.”

“Don’t take it badly, daddy. I think you'd make a great ex-athlete,” Abby says, trying to keep her face straight. Before Hank can protest, she clears her throat and grabs the nearest gift next to her and hands it over to Cole.

“I got you a little something,” she explains and the boy rips open the clumsily wrapped box. 

“A toy gun? So cool!” he gasps and aims the loaded weapon between his parents. 

“Do not-,” Connor warns, but Cole has already pulled the trigger. The android catches its rubbery bullet mid air without looking at it just as it flies past his ear. “...shoot indoors,” he finishes and shakes his fist firmly to drive the message home. 

Abby’s jaw drops and she snorts a laughter into her palm, not trying to disrespect the house rules but being unable to resist the spontaneous reaction. Cole sees it and grins, thinking it’s all a good joke. Giggling, he starts loading a new bullet in. 

“Son,” Hank raises his tone in turn and the kid’s smile fades. “Let’s practice in the garage a little later, okay?”

“Okay,” comes the humble reply. 

“Sorry, buddy,” Abby tries too. Cole hangs his head for a moment before snapping out of it and grabbing a new gift with his name on it. “What’s this?” he asks, curious. 

Connor and Hank exchange looks. 

“You’ll have to open it to find out,” Connor smiles and runs his hand along the side of Hank's knee, lovingly. 

Abby lifts an eyebrow, wondering why they are acting so weirdly. 

Cole unwraps the gift and finds a handheld game console inside. “Oh! Hohoo!” he roars with glee. “Daddy, daddy! It’s the Spaceranger!”  
  
“Really? Santa got you the game?”  
  
“Yeah!”  
  
“No way!” Hank laughs, acting surprised.  
  
“Yes way,” Cole grins, trying to get the box open. 

Abby helps him remove the plastic seal. “What’s that?” she asks Cole, glancing at the other two on the couch and returning their smiles. 

“It’s the Spaceranger!” Cole replies with a tone that tells everyone it should be obvious. 

“I see,” Abby chuckles and runs a hand through her hair, leaning in closer to see the screen. On it, a small samurai looking character shoots sparkling stars and sends twirling power bursts out of her holographic katana. 

“She’s just like me,” Cole explains, and swallows down his drool as he speaks. “There’s a kid whose parents are space cops but they’re too lazy so she has to fight crime herself to save the galaxy!”

“Hey, we’re not lazy,” Hank reminds him and both Connor and Abby laugh.

The rest of the gifts lose meaning in the boy's eyes after that one. He curls up into a small barefoot ball between Hank and Connor on the couch to play the new game. Eyes glued to the bright screen he gasps and groans along to its captivating story. 

Abby gives Hank and Connor a giftcard to a spa not too far out of town. It's nothing fancy but Hank interprets it as a small way of saying she approves of the two of them. Connor immediately researches the spa and compliments a program Abby has no idea even existed at the place. 

Hank and Connor give Abby a shared gift; a year pass to a scuba diving club near her base in Seattle. She doesn't have the heart to tell them, she's been permanently transferred to California for special unit training and won't be going back anytime soon.

"Would a new set of golf clubs been a better choice?" Connor whispers to Hank when Abby's not listening.

"What? Why? I told you she quit golfin' years ago," Hank mutters back and Connor nods, thoughtful.

\---

In the evening, Hank sets the table while Connor takes the turkey out of the oven and opens chutney jars. Abby helps by snacking on nuts and carrying large soda bottles from the garage. Cole plays Spaceranger with his new console until Connor calls him to the table.

The food is good and comforting. It's the first time in a while Abby gets a real home cooked meal and she shows her appreciation by enjoying it with a healthy appetite. When she reaches for a third serving of turkey and gravy Cole observes her intensely, slowly raising his fork to his lips. Hank and Connor exchange looks. The kid finishes his plate in a hurry and asks to be excused from the table rushing back to his video game as soon as he's done.

Hank leans back in his chair. "This was delicious!" he yawns, rubbing his belly satisfied. 

The android's plate shines almost clean in front of him. He'd tasted a little bit of everything, enjoying the act of cutting meat into small chewable bits. 

"Hope you don't mind me assuming but you're not a domestic model, are you?" Abby asks when they sip on hot chocolate around the table.

Hank shifts uncomfortably in his chair. Not that having an android as a partner is uncommon these days, but call him old fashioned, Hank feels awkward about the ideas some people have about that sort of relationships, kind of like how online dating was perceived in the early millenia. He has no idea where Abby stands on that spectrum.

"No, I'm not," Connor nods, smoothing his hair a little nervously. "How could you tell?"

"We've had RK900s at the base."

"What's that?" Hank asks, curious.

"They're the re-"

"It's a very complicated military AI thing, darling, you wouldn't understand," Connor interrupts, clearly joking but with a slightly raised tone.

Abby chuckles, surprised to see Connor threatened by the advanced model as if that had anything to do with Hank’s affections. 

"I see," Hank rubs his chin grinning, completely missing the point but wanting in on the joke.

Cole makes a new highscore and roars in excitement to no-one in particular. He lays on his stomach on the couch and drums the cushions with his feet. Alice lifts her head startled, but calms back down when she sees Sumo's laid back indifference towards the boy.

"And how's Owen?" Connor smiles, wishing to bond with Abby. He heard of the boyfriend from Hank.

"Hey yeah, I'm surprised you didn't bring him home," the old man says, reaching for a cookie. He remembers Owen from Abby's high school. They enlisted together after graduation.

Abby's smile sinks and she starts pulling on the corner of Connor's elaborately folded paper napkin. He had decided to go with the reindeer ones. 

"He's fine I guess," she says quietly, not wanting to really delve into the topic. "Him and Mel are expecting, actually."

"Mel? Melissa? The medic?"

"Yeah."

"Fuck," Hank hisses, wiping his mouth, ashtonished. A chocolate chip dangles from his moustache. Connor reaches a hand to wipe it but it falls off before he can touch it.

"Daaad!" Cole screams, eyes still glued to his new console’s screen.

"I mean… fudge!" Hank raises his voice and then lowers it again, turning to Abby, "I'm so sorry, Abs… We shouldn't have brought him up." 

"No, it's okay," the young woman sighs, pressing a finger on her temple.

Cole continues reacting noisily to his game, currently humming along to a battle theme song, slightly off key. 

"What a beautiful voice you got there, Spaceranger!" Abby shouts at Cole, who simply giggles amids his serenade and continues louder. 

Connor looks mortified, red percentage bar of mission status, that no-one else can see, flashing before his eyes. He shoots up and excuses himself from the table. "I'll be right back," he says and disappears upstairs. 

His words drown under Hank's loud voice as he tells Cole to tone it down. The kid shouts back at him and they have a little back and forth about respecting the Christmas spirit. Cole tells Hank to bug off, to which his father replies by throwing a stuffed animal at him from the dinner table. It lands softly on his butt and rolls off onto the ground. Cole laughs but gets serious again when an ominous beep from the console tells him his character is in danger.

Abby sips hot chocolate and checks her phone just to do something. No new messages. She reaches a hand into the cookie bowl and sighs satisfied at the taste of Connor's peanut butter blossoms. 

"Well?" Hank asks, nodding towards the bowl.

"By far better than anything you've ever made," Abby replies jokishly.

"Huh? No! I meant him. How do you like him?"

"Connor?"

"Yeah!"

"He's alright," Abby stretches and yawns. "Kinda cute." 

Hank laughs relieved.

"I'm happy for you dad," Abby mutters, trying not to say anything too serious. 

“I’m glad you came over,” Hank smiles across the table, flustered by the sincerity of their conversation.

“Yeah,” Abby agrees, finding it hard to look at his dad’s joyous face. “You deserve this.”

“Well yeah I- uhh...” Hank grunts, not knowing what to say. 

The sound of Connor stomping down the stairs startles the two of them from their thoughts. 

“I found them!” the android declares, carrying a cardboard box downstairs. “They’re maybe a bit dusty though.” He walks to the kitchen, puts the box down and starts digging through its content. 

“What’s this?” Abby frowns, fixing her posture on the chair.

“Old pictures of course!” Connor smiles proudly.  
  
“Con…” Hank says, feeling a pinch of discomfort in his chest. It might not be such a good idea to dig up some old things like that, he thinks but doesn't know how to say it without upsetting the other.

“As we were cleaning up the attic the other day I found these and I just thought it would be nice to share the memories together.”  
  
Abby takes a glance at his father who indeed appears nervous, tapping a finger against the side of his half empty water glass.

Connor digs through a pile of photo albums and eventually pulls out a brown envelope poorly sealed with a glittery whale sticker. “Here, take a look at these,” he says, handing them over. 

Abby grabs the envelope, pouting. She pulls out the first picture and immediately bursts out in laughter.

“Whaat, what is it?” Hank demands, a smile creeping into the corner of his mouth.

Abby wipes her eyes, gasping for air. “Oh man…!” 

Hank takes a look at Connor in turn, but the android simply smiles along, happy to have cheered the girl up. 

“Gimme that!” Hank huffs, standing up just enough to reach for the picture. His belly bumps against the dinner table as he does so. Sitting back down Hank turns the photo over in his hand and sees just what was so hilarious to his daughter. 

It’s Abby, at the age of five or so, dressed in a zebra onesie, about to shoot an arrow with a small plastic bow. What makes the picture more amusing though is Hank’s outfit. He’s rocking a pair of high waisted jeans with large white sneakers and his curly blonde hair tied up on a small bun at the back of his otherwise shaved head.

“Oh my god what are you wearing?” Abby howls with laughter. She skims through the other pictures in the envelope as well, and they are just as ridiculous as the one before. “I think you tried to fix the hoover machine when you- when-” she tries to speak but has to pause for air. Hank wipes his eyes, wheezing.

Connor’s forehead might as well declare mission successful, that’s how happy he is to see the two snickering with laughter together. 

“What’s going on?” Cole asks, pausing his game and rushing over. He grabs the current photo Abby is holding and frowns. "Is that daddy?" 

"Uh huh," Abby nods, holding her stomach. 

Hank clears his throat. "It was called a manbun," he explains, gathering some of his grey curls to imitate the look. "And you had to wear it with an undercut, like so."

"Nevermind that, look at these shorts!" Abby laughs, showing another picture of Hank to everybody. 

In it, the dashing young man in ray bans and an orangey tan, grins wide, rocking a white tank top, french tucked into a pair of extremely tight and short denim shorts. They're so small the insides of his pockets peek from under the pant leg. Hank's a tall and fit man, and his thighs are round and muscular in the photo. He looks healthy. And hairy, Connor notices, wondering if he should've kept that particular photo to himself.

"Is that me?" Cole asks, pointing at the kid sitting on Hank's shoulders.

"No, silly. It's me," Abby laughs and grabs the boy in for a playfully rough cuddle. 

Cole struggles to pull his head out of Abby's armpit. "Then where am I?"

"You weren't born yet." 

The answer doesn't seem to satisfy him. The kid picks his nose confused and thinks hard for a minute, unable to grasp the concept of time before him.

"Abby, your hair was so fair as a child," Connor comments, wanting to compliment her.

"It really was, wasn't it," Abby nods, staring at the faded photograph and her bowl cut in it. 

"You could still rock that style," Hank jokes.

"Unlike you," Abby shoots back, unable to imagine anything worse than his father, old and fat, in a pair of mini shorts.

"Well…" Connor ponders blushing up to his ears when both Abby and Hank turn to look at him, and he realizes he'd said that out loud. 

After a moment of awkward silence all three of them burst out laughing.

"Gross!" Abby informs them, running both hands over her face flushed. 

"You might still find that old pair in the attic if you keep looking," Hank winks, patting Connor's butt softly. 

"Alright, that's it," Abby declares and stands up from the table. "Cole, get your coat, we're building a snowman!" 

Connor and Hank watch from the window as Abby helps Cole roll a snowball twice his size in the backyard. The dogs run around them, chasing each other.

Connor curls his arms around the round of Hank's belly and the old man rests his head against the android's cheek.

"Hey, babe," Connor mumbles, mouth full of grey curls. “I hope my gift wasn’t too much.”

“The exercise book?”  
  
“Yeah.”  
  
“Well… uh-”  
  
“I have something else prepared but it wouldn’t have been appropriate for the family gathering. Wanna go upstairs to check it out together?” 

"Aw," Hank smiles, taking a deep breath. 

They watch Cole insist he gets lifted on top of the big ball of snow, and Abby, arguing against it but eventually giving up and hoisting him on it. Cole giggles like a mad man, takes one step and falls off with a soft thud. Both parents gasp softly and lean in closer against the window as if by doing so they'd somehow see behind the large snowball where Cole lays. They watch Abby rush to help the kid up and dust snow off his back. Cole holds onto his woolen hat, pulling it down over his eyes, grinning with joy. Abby dusts her gloved hands and points at the snowball, shouting something. Her cheeks are red and her breath visible in the air when she laughs. Cole fixes his hat on properly and runs after Sumo, Alice on his tail. They disappear behind a small storage and Abby shakes her head, following them in the knee high snow. 

Hank turns to Connor and places a warm palm on the android's cheek before pulling him in for a soft kiss. 

"Merry Christmas, Con."

"Merry Christmas."

"Now, about that other gift…" Hank smirks, making the led on Connor's temple change color briefly. 

The android blows out a candle by the window, takes Hank's hand and leads him upstairs. 


End file.
